Nature of Job discrimination

First of all lets understand the meaning of

these words:

Racism:

The prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically

superior to members of other races or,
Discriminatory or abusive behavior towards members of
another race.
Discrimination:

The root meaning of the term “discriminate”

is “to distinguish one object from another,”

However, in modern usage the term is not morally neutral.

It is usually intended to refer to the wrongful act of
distinguishing illicitly among people not on the basis of
individual merit but on the basis of prejudice or some other
impossible or morally reprehensible attitude.
Discrimination in employment thus, must
involve three basic elements:

1. First, it is a decision against one or more employees (or

prospective employees) that is not based on individual
merit such as:
 The ability to perform a given job
 Seniority
 Other morally legitimate qualifications.
2. Second, the decision derives solely or in part from:

 Racial or sexual prejudice

 From false stereotypes
 From some other kind of morally unjustified attitude
against members of the class to which the employee
belongs.
3. Third, the decision (or set of decisions) has a harmful or
negative impact on the interests of the employees, perhaps
costing them jobs, promotions, or better pay.
 DISCRIMINATION IN
EMPLOYMENT

• Any person willing to find work and unable to find work is

considered to be unemployed.

• If a person works at a level below what he/she is capable of

working at and (perhaps) consequently earns less wages is
called under-employed.

• If a person works at a level above what he/she is capable of

working at and (perhaps) consequently earns higher wages
is called over employed.
Types of discrimination
• Racism

• On the basis of Gender

• On the basis of Age

• On the basis of Religion

• On the basis of disability

• On the basis of National origin

 Why This Discrimination?
• This discrimination basically arises because those who
have the power to enforce decisions are unaccountable
for their prejudices.

• There is no countervailing power to prevent this abuse

of power.

• The larger civil society remains a mute spectator to this

malaise.
Cases of General Discrimination
• When certain races or castes are given a privilege just
because of their birth.

• When certain jobs are assigned to persons simply based on

their gender and this assignment is irrespective of skill.

• When where you studied or who you know determines

what job you get irrespective of your abilities.
 Glass Ceiling

The term glass ceiling refers to:

Situations where the advancement of a qualified person
within the hierarchy of an organization is stopped at a
lower level because of some form of discrimination, most
commonly sexism or racism.
Present Scenario of Job Discrimination

Although many more women and minorities are entering

formerly male dominated jobs, they still face problems that
they would characterize as form of discrimination.

In 1993, for
example, ABC sent a male and female, Avnish and Neelam,
on an “experiment” to apply in person for jobs several
companies were advertising.
Avnish and Neelam were both trim, neatly
dressed college graduates in their 20s, with identical resumes
indicating management experience.

Unknown to the companies, however, both were secretly

wired for sound and had hidden cameras.
One company indicated in its help-wanted ad that:
 It had several open positions.

 But when the company recruiter spoke with Neelam, the

only job he brought up was a job answering phones.

 A few minutes later, the same recruiter spoke with Avnish.

He was offered a management job.

When interviewed afterwards by ABC, the company

recruiter indicated that he would never want a man
answering his phone.
Another company had advertised positions as territory
managers for lawn-care services. The owner of that
company gave Neelam a typing test, discussed her fiance’s
business with her, and then offered her a job as a
receptionist at $6 an hour.

When the owner interviewed Avnish, however, he gave him

an aptitude test, chatted with him about how he kept fit, and
offered him a job as territory manager paying $300 to $500
a week.
When the owner was later interviewed by ABC he
comments that women “do not do well as territory
managers, which involves some physical labor.”

According to the owner he had also hired one other

woman as a receptionist and had hired several other males
as territory managers.

The experience of young Avnish and Neelam suggest that

sexual discrimination is alive and well.
 Forms of Discrimination

1. Isolated and Intentional Discrimination

A discriminatory act may be part of the isolated (non

institutionalized) behavior of a single individual who
intentionally and knowingly discriminates out of personal
prejudice. In the ABC “experiment” described, for
example, the attitudes that the male interviewer is de-
scribed as having may not be characteristic of other
company interviewers: His behavior toward female job
seekers may be an intentional but isolated instance of
sexism in hiring.
2. Institutionalized and Intentional Discrimination

Second, a discriminatory act may be part of the routine

behavior of an institutionalized group, which
intentionally and knowingly discriminates out of the
personal prejudices of its members.
In India, for example, The Muthut Finance group prefers
Keralites for any post in their company.
3. Isolated and Unintentional Discrimination

Third, an act of discrimination may be part of the isolated

(non institutionalized) behavior of a single individual
who unintentionally and unknowingly discriminates
against someone because he or she unthinkingly adopts
the traditional practices and stereotypes of his or her
society.
If the interviewer quoted in the ABC experiment
described, for example, acted unintentionally, then he
would fall into this third category.
4. Institutionalized and Unintentional discrimination

Fourth, a discriminatory act may be part of the systematic

routine of a corporate organization or group that
unintentionally incorporates into its formal
institutionalized procedures practices that discriminate
against women or minorities.
An unlawful employment practice for an employer

1. To fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual,

Or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect

to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of
employment because of such individual’s race, color,
religion, sex, or national origin
2. To limit, segregate, or classify his employees or applicants
for employment in any way that would deprive or tend to
deprive any individual of employment opportunities or
otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee
because of such individual’s race, color, sex, or national
origin
How do we estimate whether an institution or a set of
institutions is practicing discrimination against a certain
group?

A prima facie indication of discrimination exists:

When a disproportionate number of the members of a

certain group hold the less desirable positions within the
institutions in spite of their preferences and abilities.
 Three kinds of comparisons can provide
evidence for such a
distribution:

1.
Comparisons of the average benefits the institutions bestow
on the discriminated group with the average benefits the
institutions bestow on other groups;

2.
Comparisons of the proportion of the discriminated group
found in the lowest levels of the institutions with the
proportions of other groups found at those levels;
 3.
Comparisons of the proportions of that group that hold
the more advantageous positions with the proportions of
other groups that hold those same positions.
 Average Income Comparisons

Income comparisons provide the most suggestive

indicators of discrimination. If we compare the average
incomes of nonwhite American families, for example, with
the average incomes of white American families, we see
that white family incomes are substantially above those of
nonwhites.

In 1970 the average income for a black family was 65

percent of a white family’s average income; in 1994 the
black family’s income was 63 percent of the white family’s
income.
Distribution of Income Among Working Men and
Women, 1994

Income ($) Percent of men Percent of women

with that income with that income

1 to 2,499 7 14
2,500 to 4,999 4 10
5,000 to 9,999 12 21
10,000 to 14,999 13 15
15,000 to 24,999 20 19
25,000 to 49,999 29 17
50,000 to 74,999 10 3
75,000 and over 6 1
 As the figures suggests, larger percentages of white males
move into the higher paying occupations, while
minorities and women end up in those that are less
desirable.

 Consequently, although many white women have moved

into middle-management positions in recent years,
neither they nor minorities have yet been allowed
into the top-paying senior management and top
executive positions.

 Just as the most desirable occupations are held by whites,

while the less desirable are held by blacks, so also
the most well paying occupations tend to be
reserved for men, and the remainder for women.
It is some-times suggested that women choose to work in
those jobs that have relatively low pay and low prestige.

It is suggested sometimes, for example,

 that women believe that only certain jobs (such as
secretary or kindergarten teacher) are “appropriate” for
women;
 that many women choose courses of study that suit them
only for such jobs;
 that many women choose those jobs because they plan to
raise children and these jobs are relatively easy to
leave and re-enter;
 that many women choose these jobs because they have
limited demands and allow them time to raise
children;
 that many women defer to the demands of their husbands’
careers and choose to forgo developing their own careers.